Food Porn: Bob and John’s La Hacienda

source: bobandjohns.com

I was able to cross another restaurant off my Hertel “To Do” list last night when I went to Bob and John’s La Hacienda. My dad was in town and we decided to grab a bite to eat with Alli, myself and my brother and his girlfriend. It wasn’t the most adventurous group of eaters so we decided to keep it simple and try this place out. It also helped that we had a coupon for 50% off a pizza and I am still in my pizza craze mode. So we ordered a couple things off their menu (mostly pizzeria items) and gave it a try, here is how our meal went…

Their dining room wasn’t anything special, but I really liked that. It was a casual atmosphere, with a TV in the dining room and a screen that was showing one of those lottery games where you fill out a scan-tron with a #2 pencil. Their menu is pretty affordable and has a wide range of items (pizza, wings, pasta, subs). For the 5 of us we decided to order a large Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza, a Double Order of Medium Chicken Fingers, an order of Deluxe Potato Skins and some Garlic Bread with Cheese.

First things first, the Potato Skins got a mixed reaction from the table. Their “Deluxe” Potato Skins are not really “deluxe” in the sense that they are just any order of potato skins you would get with cheese and bacon and sour cream on the side. The first bite I thought they were pretty good but then I slowly began to realize that some type of cheese sauce/whiz was used. Alli and my Dad weren’t a big fan of this fake cheese taste but I thought it was OK, though I clearly would have preferred it was all “real” shredded cheese. Not the best potato skin I’ve ever had, that’s for sure.

Their medium Chicken Fingers were decent, the skin wasn’t as crunchy/crisp as I prefer but I thought their sauce was good. Lately when we have been ordering medium sauce, it seems that they have been on the mild side in terms of any heat. These actually had a good kick to them, nothing overwhelming but the spiciness you would think of as “Medium”. They were a bit on the small side but other then that, I don’t have many complaints. They definitely satisfied my Chicken Finger fix. The Pizza came out next and I was pretty damn shocked with the insane amount of pepperoni on this thing, they really threw a bunch on there. They have a really nice crunchy crust on their pizza, on the bottom it was a little stiff but when you bit into the slice the dough was still fluffy and soft. Even the cheese and the pepperoni, there was a bit of a crunch. This wasn’t one of those slices of pizza where the cheese is very gooey and slid all over the place. The closest pizza I could compare this to would be a far less greasy Pizza Hut, which isn’t necessarily an insult. If you enjoy Pizza Hut/Little Ceasers than you most definitely will like Bob and John’s Pizza. If thinking about Pizza Hut pizza makes you want to throw up, well, then I suggest staying away.

Our Garlic Bread with Cheese came out last which was a bummer because I was hoping to have that as an appetizer. It wasn’t a ground breaking meal, like Carbone’s was for us, but it was decent and we got a lot of food for a really good price (even before the coupon). If you are on budget they have some fantastic specials. For example: on Mondays and Tuesdays (from 4pm to close) for just $2.25 a person you can eat all the spaghetti you can fit in your stomach.

For any other potential n00bs, when you pay your bill this is the type of place where you bring your check to the front counter to cash out. If it wasn’t for trying to give our waitress our coupon, I would have never known about it.

Donnie Burtless is the founder of BuffaloEats.org. He also co-hosts two podcasts: Grain of Salt and The Burtlist. He's judged over 30 different food contests around Western New York and has written for Buffalo Spree, The Public and Visit Buffalo Niagara.

3 thoughts on “Food Porn: Bob and John’s La Hacienda”

Their pizza is delicious when taken-out; the cheese has a bit of time to “rest” (like it should, just as when making it at home) and it’s very good – definitely worth the slight hassle of parking on Hertel just to get take-out. My family has been going there for forever (long before I was born) and it’s always praised as being ridiculously consistent in quality. It’s also one of our favorite pizzas to reheat the next day: the chewy crust holds up very well overnight.